Tiger II, Power on the Prowl

[Randy]

ummm . . . but there a lot of photos (more everyday it seems) taken by crew members of vehicles and aircraft that never reached the noteriety required to get the press' attention that exhibited kill marks. To suggest that these were solely for display to the press for propoganda purposes goes to far IMO. Whether kill markings were displayed, I would suggest, depends both on the personality of the crew and the unit as well as whether equipment was consistantly used by a crew or rotated as needed. Some US aircraft show kill markings carried over from the previous pilot, presumably the crew chief was displaying the kills of that aircraft (this appears to be more common in the Navy). I don't think advertising one's skill was as much a concern in the air (you'd have to be close therefore already commited to your tactic to spot them) though it may well have been on the ground.


just ramblin'

[LAH 1 SS]

thats a fair point randy i know the german high command did pass orders to the efffect that kill ring marking were to be ceased because of the easy identification of good crews and was subsequently ignored by some and that is easily seen in the photos i think aircrews could be different i know a lot of crew cheifs saw the aircraft as "there aircraft" and the pilots were allowed to borrow them when required so a lot of personal pride went into an aircraft fair point though randy

[Randy]

I believe, as you might, that the barrel rings in your avatar are 1) cumulative Whittman kills and 2) done up specifically for the award ceremony's press coverage. They sure were painted on perty. That's what prompted my original question of carrying over kill rings. Just because you see a bunch of rings on a new tank's barrel doesn't necessarily mean that crew has been unusually busy since they got it, does it? If I had thirty kills and got a new ride I wouldn't start my rings from scratch again. Then again, the evidence (what I've seen) seems to suggest (to me) many crews didn't bother, either after awhile (gave up the practice, fighting for one's life taking the "sport" out of it) or at all.



Did I mention that I live about an hour and ten minutes from Jacques Littlefield?

[LAH 1 SS]

randy that is very true wittmann would be a prime example the amount of vehicles he chopped and changed into could you imagine trying to repaint all those kills on all the vehicles not cool. what is jacques littlefield rany please excuse my ignorance

[Randy]

Jacques Littlefield Military Vehicle Collection. Page 1 of 3



It's a fun place . . .

[LAH 1 SS]

ah yes i remember this place now hes restoring the panther a to runing isnt he i am so jealous of you right now all that armour so close to home

[cyberia]

Just ran across a large number of armor shots and this was among them...

Tiger IIs moving up for Operation Spring Awaking in Hungary, March-1945

[Horch]

Originally Posted by cyberia

Just ran across a large number of armor shots and this was among them...

Tiger IIs moving up for Operation Spring Awaking in Hungary, March-1945

Jeeez..great stuff. One can't post on every picture you put up(i guess) I for one as well as the rest,(I'm sure)just look forward to the next one. Thanks!

[cyberia]

Thanks, Horch. I'll keep 'em coming as I find 'em.

[cyberia]

A rear view of a command Tiger II on the Eastern Front